American writer and activist Dan Savage launched a boycott campaign on his blog last week, encouraging gay bars to stop selling Stolichnaya, one of the leading Russian vodka brands, to denounce the homophobic climate in Russia.

The company soon responded to this campaign via its website which was bearing the rainbow colours for the occasion. In an open letter the CEO condemns Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay policies and says the company stands with and supports Russia’s LGBT community.

And as it continues to gain ground each day, some are wondering what impact the boycott will actually have. In an interview for the site Gay Star News, activist Nikolai Alekseev says it will most probably have no influence over political decisions in Russia and thinks it would be better to target the homophobic lawmakers by, for example, calling on western countries to deny them entrance visas.

But the television network and its employee are not the only ones under fire. Korean web users are also slamming the man who committed the desperate act as well as members of the “Man of Korea” organization, a contentious web forum advocating men’s rights, of which he was leader. He had in fact warned his supporters of his plans via Twitter a few days earlier, telling them he was going to jump off a bridge to spread awareness about the group. Two supporters were brought along to film him, which they did, instead of trying to persuade him down; and this has also been met with disbelief and outrage from web users across the country.

Granted World Heritage status by UNESCO on the 22nd June, Mount Fuji is now accessible to web users the world over. Google has released over 14 000 panoramic shots on its Street View service so you can now visit Japan’s holy mountain from the comfort of your own home. So you can take a walk along the Yoshida trail or e-climb up the 3776 meter high active volcano.

Video of the day

Do a backflip from one skateboard and land on another … after a few failed attempts, Icelandic skateboard champ Egill Gunnar finally pulled off this staggering stunt, which you can see for yourself in this YouTube video.